My Dad's 90th Birthday Party

All I can say about my Dad's 90th last weekend is this:

I watched my Dad's extraordinary life in one evening.

I was in AWE.

He lives unapologetically and from the heart. Yes he is slowing down, but he is 90! He lives alone, cooks and still drives pretty well.

And he exercises every morning for one hour. He wasn't always like this, but after some big ups and downs, you learn some things. We always grow and expand through hard times. So the last 12 years he's been like this...relaxed, loves unconditionally, unbothered, connected.

This all started because many of us meet our cousins and friends after years and years at funerals. And after too many of those lately, we thought "let's have a celebration while Dad is living so grande". And so we did. What a celebration it was.

It was tough organizing as my Dad has all his contacts on his phone and in his 3 email softwares and we don't live in the same city. But we did it. With some help from all, it happened. We even put an ad in the local newspaper which brought out some old neighbours we grew up with. People from all the different clubs my Dad has been a part of for 60 years showed up for him.

He is a participant in his community in Thunder Bay. He shows up for local festivals for all cultures and not just the Indian ones.  The mayor and MP Patty Hajdu spoke and presented him with birthday certificates. He invited over 200 people and almost everyone came. 38% came from out of town and flew in. Family from California, Vancouver, Winnipeg and his 79 year old brother from Toronto and 84 year old sister from New York. We were so grateful.

The most exciting part...the Thunder Bay Foundation started a bursary in his name, for future students in Engineering. We are so excited to see all the people who have donated to this fund to get this bursary started. My dad started a similar bursary for my Mom when she passed years ago and her legacy lives on. Students of the arts get a bursary every year in her name. It's so special. What is truly special is my Dad will be part of giving this bursary while he is still alive and well.

It was like a reception without the wedding..that was the joke of the weekend.

My Dad has been through a lot in life. He will always say "you live long enough, you will have to deal with things". He lost my mom to cancer when he was in his 50s. He remarried and that was *?&^%$ for him for 20 years. He got divorced. He was in big fear of having no money. Then of course, after he did what was best for him, all of his investments have taken off and he has always been looked after money wise.

The Universe always has our back!!! And Dad is so connected now. He speaks about "the guy upstairs" always looking out for him. So many instances he's had in life where he can't discount that he is protected and supported. His car crash with a transport truck a few years ago where he walked away without a scratch with a totalled car is just one example.

He's had open heart surgery with a valve replacement when he was 78. He had prostate cancer at 85. And now he is clear of those diseases and is living his best life.

It was quite the party and quite the weekend. We had all the out of town family over for dinner on Friday night and brunch on Sunday to my Dad's house...don't worry, I did not cook, we catered Indian food for both!!!

Yes we were all exhausted but boy was it fun. I am comfortable planning events, but my brothers and I asked an event planner friend to help as we needed the help. Another local friend helped my dad organize everything with the venue as we all live out of town.

A lesson in asking for help and I am sure glad we did. We put my Dad's dance solo of 2 minutes in the agenda of the evening, as his friends always want to see him dance...you can see it here on instagram.

My brothers and I did podcast type interviews with dad on the stage instead of him making a speech; the grandchildren all shared 1-2 things he has taught them.

That was touching and tear jerking for sure. Kids are sure more capable than ever and they are watching and paying attention even when you think they are not. That's what I learned. I was shocked at what my kids and niece and nephew shared.

My dad sure has made an impact on them without him realizing it.

And my brothers made an AI video of us as babies doing a podcast interview...they were mocking me a bit, all in good fun. It was a true highlight of the evening. Hope to post that on Youtube soon.

A few pics are here of the evening. Thanks for being a part of the journey. All the messages on Facebook and Instagram have been so wonderful to see...I know he inspires alot of people and hope seeing him so alive and mobile helps you make some changes in your current life right now.

You better believe it that I have shifted some things in my workouts to be sure I am creating mobility and agility into my weekly routine. I will be sharing more videos on instagram this week about the other things I think are part of his longevity and his quality of life right now.

It's not all exercise.

There is so much more.